Erin Morgenstern's Blog, page 40
September 15, 2011
Of Magic and Debuts – Another wonderful Q&A
I loved answering the questions posed to me by Booktrust. It's always wonderful to talk magic and process and why it is that the circus is the way the circus is.
Is magic real?
Of course it is. This is a silly question. Real magic simply isn't as easily contained as a rabbit in a hat.
Read more: http://www.booktrust.org.uk/show/feature/Home/Erin-Morgenstern-interview
Ten Terrifying Questions
Not as terrifying as some questions I've been asked, but Booktopia made me think, especially when trying to pick my favorite anything.
1. To begin with why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was born and raised in Massachusetts, about halfway between Boston and Cape Cod, so I've always been a coastal, ocean girl even though I prefer night-time beaches to sun-soaked ones. I went to Smith College in Western Massachusetts where I studied Theatre and Studio Art.
September 14, 2011
Largehearted Boy Book Notes
With the Harry Potter series ended, I have been recommending Lev Grossman's excellent The Magiciansand its sequel The Magician King to readers looking to fill the magical fiction void. I can now add Erin Morgenstern's debut novel to that list.
The Night Circus is elegantly crafted and lush with descriptions of its fantastic world and denizens. Morgenstern's history as a visual artist serves her prose well in this wholly entertaining story of magic and romance.
Read my playlist here: http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/a...
Imaginary Architecture
I think I must have been an architect in a past life, or possibly an interior designer; definitely one of those occupations that involves creating space because, in this lifetime, that place-building sensibility has become the core of my writing.
I've always loved books that feel like locations to be visited, and stories that feel like journeys to elsewhere. And I don't just mean wonderlands or fantastical worlds, but also trips through gothic mansions with creaking stairs, or travels aboard softly swaying train cars.
The Night Circus began as an exploration of imaginary architecture. It started with the circus itself: tall striped tents and curling wrought iron fences, a central bonfire-lit courtyard and winding paths. I spent a long time walking around those paths in my head and investigating the contents of each tent, often building additional structures inside them—from unusual carousels to mazes of clouds.
Beyond the tents, there is the curiosity-filled mansion inhabited by the somewhat eccentric circus proprietor—an enigma of a townhouse with antique armament hanging in a room concealed by a stained glass sunset, and a sarcophagus propped up between the well-stocked bookshelves in the library.
And then there are rain-coated city streets dotted with umbrellas, formal dining tables covered with slowly dripping candles, cafes scented with cinnamon, and solitary oak trees overlooking fields that are not always empty.
I explore when I write, finding doors to open, the walls they fit within, and then there's the matter of discovering the rooms that lie beyond. Within those rooms (or tents in this case) I encounter characters. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what they're doing there and where they came from, what caused their scars, what secrets lie within.
But everything starts with place. What it looks like, how it feels, what sort of scents permeate the air. And I endeavor to put the places down on paper in a way that they feel almost palpable. So a reader can buy a ticket and hopefully immerse themselves in the journey. I hope The Night Circus is just such a place…
Night Circus made it to Lexington, KY, too
Tuesday was quite the day for the Night Circus. It seemed to be everywhere all at once. Another group of reveurs in Lexington, KY managed to get some pictures of the traveling magical circus.
Night Circus arrives at Warwick's Bookstore
September 13, 2011
i can't believe this day is here.
I wish I knew how to say thank you a million ways, to everyone who has already visited the circus and to everyone about to enter its gates. To those who made this possible and those who held my hand along the way.
But I don't, so instead I offer a plain and simple Thank You wrapped up in endless gratitude with a single red rose.
Thank you, truly.
e.
September 12, 2011
the reviews are in …
And there are a lot of them. Here, have a picture of a kitten first:
Romance and magic dazzle in dreamy Night Circus
Read more: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/12/140320486/romance-and-magic-dazzle-in-dreamy-night-circus
I enter The Night Circus, and I linger in The Night Circus, and I jump the fence when the circus is closed and I hide in tents, and each time the circus moves to its next location, I want to move with it, become part of it, call a tent mine, and see what happens next.
Read more: http://www.spectermagazine.com/blog/night-circus
Morgenstern's debut is lifted by its poetic writing, winking literary allusions and thematic cohesion.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/10/3129152/book-review-literary-magic-in.html
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is one of those rare books that is almost impossible to describe. Because in the describing you just give away the plot and when that is brought down to mere inadequate words the magic seeps out of it.
Read more: http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/2011/09/night-circus-by-erin-morgenstern.html
The Night Circus feels like the kind of novel I've been waiting a very long time for.
Read more: http://bookmonkeyscribbles.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/the-night-circus-by-erin-morgenstern/
The Night Circus is like nothing else I have read before. It's been a long time since I was so fully enchanted by a novel.
Read more: http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/2011/09/review-night-circus-by-erin-morgenstern.html
Prepare to be entranced by Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus.
Read more: http://books.usatoday.com/book/erin-morgenstern-the-night-circus/r546576
Morgenstern's Circus is the stuff that dreams are made of, and nothing short of a wild ride.
Read more: http://www.elle.com/Pop-Culture/Movies-TV-Music-Books/New-Book-Release-The-Night-Circus
This book is not one full of action and adventure. And I could not read it all in one sitting. The description is too rich, the magic is too amazing to be able to truly absorb it expect for in small doses
I think I'm in love with this book, because I absolutely adore everything about it.
Morgenstern's novel feels crafted from the fabric of a dream, and the circus itself never fails to astound. For me, the only real disappointment was that I couldn't buy a ticket.
part two of my Writer Unboxed interview
Meant to post this Friday but Part II of my Writer Unboxed interview with the lovely & talented Jan O'Hara is up over here. Thanks again to Jan & everyone at WU!
September 9, 2011
flax-golden tales: journey without a destination
journey without a destination
I just needed to get away for a while.
The train wasn't the cheapest option, or the most expensive for that matter, but it felt like the right choice.
Maybe it sounded romantic.
And it was the only mode of transportation that didn't require a set destination. I paid the highest listed price at the station and no one asked any questions.
There aren't that many stops anymore, now that we're so far from the city. Long stretches of trees line the tracks, the scenery hasn't changed much.
I keep telling myself I'll disembark at the stop that feels right.
So far none of them have.
And I can't help wondering, in the back of my mind, how far the train might take me.
About flax-golden tales. Photo by Carey Farrell. Text by Erin Morgenstern.
